Relic working on Age of Empires 4

Game looks fine. Not sure why people expected it to look like Crysis 1 lol.

Aoe4 looks great. Perfect for what RTS needs to be, welcoming and user friendly.

Big giant weapons is obviously a design decision so that players know "okay man with giant stick attached to a sword, let's not charge it with a horse." "Okay 10 giant arrows coming down on me, let me move my soldiers to dodge them"

I always love Relic's design decisions, their designers have always been great. Unfortunately players don't understand what makes games fun and criticize it before even playing or thinking about why it is like that.

They didn't make AoE4 colorful just for giggles, they did it because that is the trend with all popular games and that is what is bringing in the money.

Coh2 is more colorful than vCoH and it ended up being more successful sales wise.

Very impressed by Relic's work. Most complaints are coming from nostalgia seekers; sorry no company is going to put all their eggs on older nostalgia seeker players. Most of the time nostalgia seekers complain too much anyways, reminds me of Halo.

CoH3 might be the same thing. It'll be more colorful and more easy on the eye I think

No comments on this picture?

Maybe focus on the menu?

Maybe the sword icon?

It has an A hotkey. So I guess WASD movement is out the window?

Programmable keys maybe?

No comments on this picture?

Maybe focus on the menu?

Maybe the sword icon?

It has an A hotkey. So I guess WASD movement is out the window?

Programmable keys maybe?

Programmable keys? There's no way. The technology just isn't there yet.

No comments on this picture?

Maybe focus on the menu?

Maybe the sword icon?

It has an A hotkey. So I guess WASD movement is out the window?

Programmable keys maybe?

It's gridkeys, which is standard in every major RTS now. UI looks fine to me.

AoE2 and AoE3 have extensive programmable hotkeys, I expect Microsoft to force Relic to use it.

To be honest, it looks terrible. And Relic spends 5 years on this, instead of making a DLC for CoH2.

Relic please what are you doing. Don't shrink down the buildings like this it makes the game look insane. If you want to make the game more playable and buildings less in the way give the player a hotkey that flattens terrain and buildings. Hell, even a hotkey to just shrink the buildings like this but even smaller so you can click on units behind them. Small trees and small walls mod for AoE2 are nice options, they should not be the default and only graphics setting for the game.

Relic please what are you doing.

I do like the games art style so far but on this I completely agree

Release date revealed, October 28th.

Must be coming along pretty well if they stuck with October instead of November.

Am I the only one feeling quite disappointed after playing the public alpha?
What's the point of playing in the Middle Ages, I'm still playing aoe2?

I don't know, I expected something more. I can understand that the game is focused for aoe2's players but my expectations are extremely low.

Am I the only one feeling quite disappointed after playing the public alpha?

I thought it was DOW 3 all over again. They even managed to get the shite graphics from DOW 3 into Age of Empires 4.

I thought it was DOW 3 all over again. They even managed to get the shite graphics from DOW 3 into Age of Empires 4.

zzzz

look at the popular games: fortnite, DotA, LoL, Mobile Games

Shit graphics, but the majority somehow likes that.

I Don't know why

I thought the beta was great. I was surprised when the game was actually playable, it was just their marketing that was terrible.

Looking forward to the actual release.

This game is coming out tomorrow right?

This game is coming out tomorrow right?

Steam says yes.

What I'd really like to see are some more ambitious graphics settings, though first of all, there are some technical issues that really need to be addressed. To begin with, the game is highly reliant on performance from a single thread, meaning that CPU frequencies trump the amount of cores you may have, leading to massive underutilisation of today's many-core processors. This is somewhat bizarre for a DX12 title and definitely holds the game back. Secondly, GPU load increases to an extraordinary degree (anything up to 2x) when the camera moves, leading to highly inconsistent frame-times and frame-rates, as the image above demonstrates. Given how commonplace camera movement and scrolling are in an RTS game, I really wish this did not happen as it makes the game look 'janky' even if it does not impact the immediate micro-management frame-rate. We have notified the developers of our findings and received a response:

"The issue you encountered is related to the amount of textural terrain required from the game, which loads in as a player is actively playing and can impact performance when panning the camera. We are actively investigating options to further optimise this scenario. Based on input from internal testing, our technical stress tests, and community feedback, this performance drop when panning the camera should quickly correct itself and should not significantly impact gameplay. The quality of the gameplay experience for our Age players is very important to us, and we are working diligently to address and enhance their experience post-launch based on their feedback."

Link

Show Spoiler

I thought the beta was great. I was surprised when the game was actually playable, it was just their marketing that was terrible.

Looking forward to the actual release.

Yes, AoE4 has some potential

But,

AoE4 fans are learning the hard way that Relic still sucks at post-launch support.
What Sega and Microsoft need to understand, this is not a money issue. Throwing a bunch of money at CoH3 and AoE4 will NOT fix this.

The number of players doesn’t lie. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition is now 2x times more popular than AoE4.

Steam chart comparison AoE4 vs AoE2;
From AoE4 launch to now;

Recent 6 month comparison;

https://steamcharts.com/cmp/1466860,813780#6m

Even CoH2 will soon beat AoE4;


As seen by the steam charts, Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition has been very consistent in active players since launch.

What does it take for Sega/Microsoft to wake up?
I'm not saying this just as a fan, but from an investor point of view.
Please for your own sake and the future of AoE4/CoH3 rethinks the relationship with Relic.
Blackbird Interactive = Relic 2.0

Can Relic handle uncomfortable truth?

They need a new engine badly. Using the Same Engine for COH1 + COH2 + COH3 + Dawn of War 2/3 and AOE 4 is stretching it.

Only so much you can do with 1 CPU core and 3 gigs of Ram.

They need a new engine badly. Using the Same Engine for COH1 + COH2 + COH3 + Dawn of War 2/3 and AOE 4 is stretching it.

Only so much you can do with 1 CPU core and 3 gigs of Ram.

Whether this is true or not.

No amount of Microsoft/Sega money can fix incompetence and/or laziness. Perhaps this is caused by an ongoing talent bleed or something else, Sega/MS needs to figure this out. If MS fails to act on this, AoE4 will be dead within a year.

For recent AoE4 examples of this incompetence/laziness, look at these CoH vs AoE4 comparisons;
https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/gamestar-is-aoe4-dying/197987/85




I'm not buying the argument 'not enough time' to make AoE4. The AoE4 team publicly stated in interviews that they had no crunch time.

Proof;
Crunch Has Never Happened At Relic Entertainment, Age of Empires 4 Dev
https://segmentnext.com/crunch-relic-entertainment/

Speaking with German publication Golem in a recent interview, game director Quinn Duffy was asked if he and his team of developers are prepared for crunch to ensure Age of Empires 4 releases on schedule.

He revealed that crunch has never been an issue at Relic Entertainment. In fact, the only time Duffy could remember having to endure crunch was with Company of Heroes 2 nearly a decade ago and even there, staffers had to only put in a couple of weeks at most of overtime.

Both Microsoft and Sega have been extremely generous with Relic. If this studio was owned by EA or Activision they would have died years ago.

Yes, AoE4 has some potential

But,

AoE4 fans are learning the hard way that Relic still sucks at post-launch support.
What Sega and Microsoft need to understand, this is not a money issue. Throwing a bunch of money at CoH3 and AoE4 will NOT fix this.

The number of players doesn’t lie. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition is now 2x times more popular than AoE4.

Steam chart comparison AoE4 vs AoE2;
From AoE4 launch to now;

Recent 6 month comparison;

https://steamcharts.com/cmp/1466860,813780#6m

Even CoH2 will soon beat AoE4;


As seen by the steam charts, Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition has been very consistent in active players since launch.

What does it take for Sega/Microsoft to wake up?
I'm not saying this just as a fan, but from an investor point of view.
Please for your own sake and the future of AoE4/CoH3 rethinks the relationship with Relic.
Blackbird Interactive = Relic 2.0

Can Relic handle uncomfortable truth?

You are late to the party friend. I called this out years ago: here citing the same proof as you since i am a genius.

but i agree aoe4 sucks little balls with potential to not suck at all